Rex Ryan needs to put Jets' vision back in focus

AP photoRex Ryan has the task of getting the Jets back on the winning road.

The 2011 season ended dismally for the New York Jets.

There was no Super Bowl trip. No third straight trip to the AFC Championship Game. Not even a playoff berth.

Just an 8-8 season sealed by a three-game losing streak that culminated in a debacle in Miami, a 19-17 loss with wide receiver Santonio Holmes exiled from the huddle with the game on the line, making it clear that laissez-faire head coach Rex Ryan’s program had gone awry.

As random reports of a dysfunctional locker room continued to percolate in the aftermath, the truth is that what fell apart as much as anything in 2011 was Ryan’s vision of the type of football team he wanted to put on the field.

Ryan’s outspoken style might not fit into a buttoned-down time gone by, but his football philosophy is pure throwback. Ground and pound, the coach says. Dominate with defense.

For two years, it worked. In 2010, in an increasingly pass-happy league, the Jets were still one of the few teams that ran the ball more than they threw it. Ryan’s attacking schemes let loose one of the league’s top defenses. The Jets went 11-5 and lost the AFC Championship Game to the Steelers.

The blueprint failed in 2011.

The Jets threw the ball 547 times and ran it 443. LaDainian Tomlinson, the leading rusher of a year earlier, had only 75 carries and retired after the season. Shonn Greene managed just two 100-yard games as the lead back.

After leading the NFL with 172.2 rushing yards per game in 2009 and ranking fourth in 2010 at 148.4, the Jets fell all the way to No. 22 with just 105.8 yards per game.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez turned it over 26 times, with 18 interceptions and eight lost fumbles. Five of those were returned for scores — three by the Ravens in one brutal October loss — while others played a part in putting the defense in some field-position holes.

That’s part of the reason why even though the Jets remained in the top five defenses for yards allowed, the team dropped all the way to No. 20 in points allowed.

So it was not the type of football team Ryan wants on the field. The question is, can he bring back one that he does?

The pieces seem to be in place to regroup defensively. There are proven playmakers at linebacker with Bart Scott, David Harris, Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas, who was missed much of last season after tearing his Achilles’ four games in. Darrelle Revis is the league’s best cornerback and there’s strength on the other side with Antonio Cromartie. Jim Leonhard is out at safety after two straight injury-shortened seasons, but LaRon Landry is a big-play newcomer.

The most glaring defensive weakness in the Ryan tenure has been the defensive line pass rush, but that should be improved by young defensive ends Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples.

The offense, however, has looked worse than ever in the preseason, with quarterbacks Sanchez and Tim Tebow failing to get the team into the end zone in the three games they played. They have one proven wide receiver in Holmes. Tebow’s Wildcat role was kept under wraps, but it can’t be expected to solve everything once the Jets finally use it in a game.

The mystery is why the Jets devoted so little effort to personnel changes on the offensive line considering Ryan’s professed devotion to running the football. Vlad Ducasse got a shot at left guard, but couldn’t make Matt Slauson sweat. Right tackle proved to be a mess that still hasn’t been solved. Untested Austin Howard is the starter — for now — after Wayne Hunter was demoted then dealt to St. Louis for Jason Smith, a former No. 2 overall pick who had failed with the Rams.

For the Jets to play offense the way Ryan wants them to, the offensive line needs to be great. Right now, it’s not. That’s not good enough, not with the Patriots hanging out at the top of the AFC East, relegating the Jets to a battle for a wild card spot.

The Jets get a break schedule-wise with the ongoing futility of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, but outside the division they’ve got the Steelers, Niners, Texans and Chargers. This will be a .500 team again, give or take a game, and that won’t be good enough for the playoffs. 